From FT BA attacks U.S. airport security demands

The chairman of British Airways has launched an attack on “completely redundant” airport checks and said the UK should stop “kowtowing” to US demands for increased security.

The comments by Martin Broughton reflect broader industry and passenger frustration over the steady accumulation of rules on everything from onboard liquids to hand baggage that have blossomed since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In remarks at the annual conference of the UK Airport Operators Association in London, he said that the practice of forcing people to take off their shoes and have their laptops checked separately in security lines should be ditched.

Mr Broughton said there was no need to “kowtow to the Americans every time they wanted something done” to beef up security on US-bound flights, especially when this involved checks the US did not impose on its own domestic routes.